Chapter 145 Does Achan Like Me?
Even before we got close to the Heavenly Street, the lively and joyous sounds could already reach our ears.
Standing in the shadows and looking into the distance, the Heavenly Street is brightly lit, with countless lanterns stretching out like a winding dragon all the way to the palace gate.
Achan couldn't wait to pull Bai Xiuming into the Heavenly Street. On both sides of the street, there were people guessing lantern riddles, selling all kinds of snacks and pastries, and performing acrobatics and operas.
She had never participated in such a grand festival before, and was overwhelmed by the sights, wanting to check out every stall.
If Bai Xiuming hadn't been holding her hand, she probably would have disappeared the moment they entered the Heavenly Street.
"The lanterns here are so beautiful." Achan's gaze swept over the stalls filled with lanterns, her eyes filled with the dazzling lights.
Which one would you like?
"Hmm..." She was having some trouble making a decision until she saw a young couple holding a little boy, who was carrying a fish lantern.
The fish lantern was chubby and quite endearing. Achan tugged at Bai Xiuming's hand and quietly pointed at them, saying, "I want that one."
Bai Xiuming stared at the little boy carrying the fish lantern, who was probably not even three years old, and fell silent for a moment.
He looked down at Achan, whose eyes were sparkling as she looked at him expectantly.
Left with no other option, he had to step forward and stop the couple who were laughing and talking.
As Bai Xiuming walked over, the couple stopped. The man asked, "What brings you here, young master?"
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you," Bai Xiuming said gently. "Could you two please tell me where you obtained this fish lantern?"
Seeing that he was only asking about the origin of the lanterns, the man pointed behind him and said, "About a hundred meters ahead, there is a pitch-pot stall. There are many fish lanterns hanging on the stall. As long as you can throw them in the right way, you can take one away."
Thank you.
After thanking the two, Bai Xiuming led Achan forward.
Ah Chan deliberately mimicked his earlier manner of speaking: "Excuse me, Lord Bai, you've never been so polite to me before."
"Then I'll be more careful next time?"
"snort."
The two walked a distance of less than 100 meters, but it took them a quarter of an hour, mainly because Achan was just too easy to be seduced.
When they finally arrived at the pitch-pot stall, Achan found a large crowd gathered there.
She pushed Bai Xiuming out to clear a path, finally seizing a favorable position, and then crawled out from under his arm.
The stall was large, with a colorful ribbon blocking the outside. Pitch-pots of different sizes were arranged on the ground in a neat and orderly fashion, with a fish lantern hanging above each pitch-pot.
The fish lantern that Ah Chan had her eye on was in the second row, but now she no longer liked that fat fish.
She immediately took a liking to the fish lantern hanging above the last arrow-throwing game. It was a lantern with two fish playing with a pearl, and its style was very similar to the double fish pendant she had bought before. The two fish were upside down and lifelike, and the pearl in the middle could rotate.
"Bai Xiuming, I want that one." Achan pointed at the Pisces lamp, her eyes filled with the words "I want it."
Upon hearing Ah Chan's words, the stall owner walked over with a smile and said to the two girls, "Miss, that Double Fish Playing with Pearl Lamp is quite difficult to obtain."
"Why don't you tell me, boss?" She was determined to have that lamp tonight!
"It takes two people to throw the wooden arrows into the two sides of the handle of the pot at the same time, and then this double fish lantern will be yours." After explaining the rules, the shopkeeper added, "Oh, by the way, the wooden arrows cost two coins each, and each person can only throw a maximum of ten. Would you and this young master like to give it a try?"
Bai Xiuming had no objection to this. Achan measured the distance and height of the pitch-pot with her eyes and nodded: "Give him one, and give me ten."
The shopkeeper counted out eleven wooden arrows and handed them over. Bai Xiuming took them and gave one to Achan.
The first three arrows failed to hit the pot, but on the fourth arrow, the wooden arrow fell into the pot.
However, the mouth of this pitch-pot is large, but the handles on both sides are much smaller, only about one size thicker than a wooden arrow.
Then Achan threw five more balls, only one of which landed in the left ear of the pot.
At this moment, Bai Xiuming only had two wooden arrows left in his hands, one of which was his.
When Achan tried, many people were watching from the sidelines, and some even whispered that she had a talent for pitch-pot. This was her last chance, and they all wanted to know if the double fish lantern could be taken away.
"How do you feel?" Bai Xiuming leaned down slightly and asked in A Chan's ear.
Ah Chan tugged at her sleeve, exuding confidence: "This lamp must belong to me tonight!"
Bai Xiuming teased her, "What if you can't get it?"
Achan took her wooden arrow from his hand, tilted her head and whispered in his ear, "Then go and arrest the boss, and don't let him go until he makes a hundred fish lanterns!"
Bai Xiuming chuckled: "I can consider it."
Then he asked with a smile, "Left or right?"
"I'll put the right one in, you put the left one in." Achan had just thrown in the right ear, and whether Bai Xiuming could get in or not was none of her concern.
"good."
The two picked up wooden arrows at the same time, without agreeing on a slogan. Achan threw her arrow first, and then Bai Xiuming threw his arrow.
The onlookers who witnessed this scene began to say it was a pity, but in the end, the two wooden arrows were thrown into the two ears of the pitching pot at the same time.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers.
The shopkeeper jogged over and circled the pitch-pot, then announced with a smile, "This one-of-a-kind double fish playing with a pearl lantern now belongs to this young lady."
Then came another round of cheers.
The shopkeeper took down the Double Fish Playing with a Pearl lamp and handed it to Ah Chan.
Achan took the fish lantern, leaned closer to look at it, and found it increasingly exquisite.
She leaned against Bai Xiuming's side and held up the fish lantern for him to see: "Look, it's the same as the jade pendant we wear."
"The jade pendant you gave me is much prettier."
Ah Chan was quite pleased with these words. She waved to the stall owner, picked up her spoils, and left the stall with Bai Xiuming.
After walking a while longer, Achan noticed many people releasing sky lanterns to make wishes. The lanterns flew into the air, illuminating the entire night sky.
She pulled Bai Xiuming to the stall selling sky lanterns and bought two lanterns there as well.
After the two sky lanterns were lit, they slowly floated into the air. A-Chan clasped her hands together, muttering, "Hoping for prosperous business next year? No way, that's too tiring. I'll just wish myself peace and safety instead~"
After making her wish, Achan leaned close to Bai Xiuming and asked, "What did you wish for?"
May your business prosper in the coming year.
"That wish doesn't count, choose another one!"
"No change."
As Achan tugged at Bai Xiuming's arm, trying to get him to change his wish, countless sky lanterns had already been raised around them.
She tilted her head back, mesmerized by the magnificent scenery.
Seeing how much she liked it, Bai Xiuming turned to look at the imperial city not far away and said to her, "Let's go, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where to?" Achan's attention was drawn back to her, and she asked curiously.
"Climb high and look far, go to a high place to see the scenery."
Achan immediately became interested and turned to ask him, "The Tower of Babel?"
"Dream on. Tonight, only the people from the Imperial Observatory can go up the Tower of Babel."
"What are they doing up there?" Achan asked as she followed Bai Xiuming forward.
"To divine the dynasty's fortune and pray for the well-being of all people."
Achan looked in the direction of the Tower of Babel: "Aren't you afraid someone will disrupt the ritual by performing divination in such an obvious place?"
“No one usually dares to come to the capital to die on this day.”
Bai Xiuming's words reminded Achan of herself.
She was the one who picked an auspicious day to come to the capital to die, and he just happened to catch her red-handed.
As they were talking, the two arrived at the foot of the imperial city, where strings of red lanterns hung all over the city walls.
Today, a Lantern Festival banquet is being held in the imperial city, and the city gates remain open.
The imperial guards on duty at the city gate were initially wary when they saw someone approaching, but relaxed after seeing the person's appearance.
A captain of the Imperial Guard stepped forward and asked respectfully, "Lord Bai, are you going to the palace?"
"If you wish to go up to the city wall, please... make an exception."
The captain felt relieved. It turned out they were just going up to the city wall. He had thought they were going to take people into the palace. He was unwilling to easily get into a conflict with this man.
"Please go ahead."
"Thank you." After thanking the other party, Bai Xiuming led A Chan up to the city wall of the imperial city.
Standing atop the high city tower, one can see the thirteen Heavenly Streets directly facing the Imperial City below. The streets teem with people, their lights twinkling like dragons. Each street, like a reclining dragon, guards the Imperial City.
Countless sky lanterns rose from the Heavenly Street, ascending into the sky, just like the starry river that mortals light up for themselves.
At this moment, Achan felt as if she were standing on the other side of the Milky Way, surrounded by dazzling lights, and those sky lanterns seemed within reach.
"So beautiful," Achan sighed softly.
It was more beautiful than the night sky she had seen on Qingyu Mountain, and more spectacular than the lantern festival she had seen from afar in the Northern Wilderness. This was the vibrant atmosphere of the Great Xia Dynasty.
After admiring it quietly for a while, Achan couldn't help but say to the people around her, "Everyone has made so many wishes to the heavens, I wonder how long I'll have to wait in line for my wish to come true?"
Bai Xiuming chuckled. He raised his hand, and a stream of light seemed to shimmer between his fingers. Suddenly, a sky lantern flew towards them from afar and finally stopped in front of Achan.
Achan stared blankly at the sky lantern, then turned to look at Bai Xiuming.
Bai Xiuming told her, "We can cut in line."
He walked behind Achan, took her hand, and their index fingers overlapped. They wrote Achan's name on the sky lantern and wished her peace and safety.
The six characters "May everything be peaceful for Achan" were clearly imprinted on the sky lantern, glowing with a halo. Bai Xiuming gently pushed the lantern, and it flew straight upwards, higher and higher. Suddenly, a golden light flashed in the sky, like a corner of a complex array or totem, and then the lantern disappeared.
"What is that?" Achan exclaimed in surprise.
"That is a totem for praying for blessings."
"You added my name to the totem?"
Achan wasn't completely ignorant. Totems possess powerful energy and cannot be changed at will. Bai Xiuming's seemingly casual push required immense effort.
It was all because of one sentence she said.
Achan turned around, looked up at the man so close to her, and asked him earnestly, "Why did you do this?"
"Don't you like it?" Bai Xiuming asked back.
"I like it," Achan said without hesitation, but she still hadn't forgotten her question from earlier, "You haven't answered me yet, why did you do this?"
Bai Xiuming gazed at her, his voice low and gentle, filled with indescribable tenderness: "Because you like it, because... I like you."
Ah Chan's long eyelashes trembled slightly. For a moment, she felt as if sweet rain had fallen from the sea of her heart, creating ripples that eventually overwhelmed her with a raging storm.
"Does Achan like me?" he asked.
Achan didn't answer. She tiptoed and gently touched his thin lips with her soft ones. Bai Xiuming suddenly froze, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
"I don't feel anything?" Achan blinked in confusion. Just as she was about to back away, a hand suddenly grabbed her lower back.
The sudden force caused her to fall into Bai Xiuming's arms, like prey falling into a trap.
The hunter lowered his head and caught his prey in his mouth.
Hot breath pressed down from above, and Achan tilted her head back, passively enduring Bai Xiuming's fiery lips and tongue.
Completely different from her previous measured touch, he held her lips in his mouth, caressing them inch by inch until their breaths mingled. Ah Chan's soft moans reached his ears, and he completely lost control. His tongue plunged into her mouth, recklessly sucking up her saliva.
Bai Xiuming had one arm around her waist and the other hand pressed against the back of her neck, his fingertips gently massaging her delicate skin.
Ah Chan slowly released her grip on his clothes and pressed her hand against his chest. Her body trembled slightly as if out of control, her limbs lost their strength, and only her heart was pounding violently, as if it were about to jump out of her chest.
She felt like a long time had passed before Bai Xiuming finally stepped back slightly, and their tongues mingled together, forming a silvery thread. As she watched this scene, Achan felt like her whole body was about to burst into flames.
Bai Xiuming's forehead touched hers, their noses almost touching. Achan could hear his rapid breathing and feel his disordered heartbeat beneath her hand.
He spoke again, his voice low and husky: "Does A-Chan like me?"
"My affection is very precious; it takes a lot more affection to exchange for it."
Bai Xiuming smiled and said, "Okay, I'll give Achan lots and lots of love."
"Then I like you too."
Under the glow of countless lights, two intertwined figures remained inseparable for a long time.
Inside the palace, the moment the totem appeared, the King looked up at it, then looked away speechlessly and finished his drink.
"Isn't Qin Heng on duty today? Why didn't that brat Bai Xiuming come to the palace banquet?" the emperor asked Mingwang.
"He made plans with a girl to go to the lantern festival."
The emperor was somewhat taken aback when the phrase "going to the lantern festival" appeared in Bai Xiuming's vocabulary.
Just like the time before the New Year when Bai Xiuming came to the palace to ask for a reward, it was terrifying.
"Which girl could have turned him into this?" The emperor was incredibly curious.
He also thought that Bai Xiuming, having been raised to have such a cold and aloof personality, would be like the Ming King, unmoved by anyone.
The King of Ming's gaze was deep and unfathomable as he turned to look in the direction of the city gate: "The girl who could move his heart must not be from an ordinary family."
The emperor's curiosity grew even more when the Ming king made such a comment: "Just how unusual is it?"
"Your Majesty, just watch and see." King Ming withdrew his gaze and said slowly, "This brat will suffer in the future, and Your Majesty can laugh at him to your heart's content then."
On the city wall, Achan nestled lazily in Bai Xiuming's arms.
"What are you thinking about?" Bai Xiuming asked.
"I was thinking, this time last year, I spent it in the town prison..."
Last year she went to great lengths to clear her name, but this year doesn't seem to be much better.
She raised her hand and gently touched her lips, feeling that they were already swollen. His actions weren't rough, but he was undeniably greedy, and Ah Chan found it hard to resist.
A glint of light flashed in Bai Xiuming's eyes. Their first encounter was hardly pleasant; at that time, she felt completely out of place.
He looked down at Achan. From his angle, he could see her small, delicate earlobes, her slender, fragile neck hidden in the snow-white rabbit fur, and her bright eyes that only held his image when she looked up at him.
She hasn't changed at all; the one who has changed is him.
Bai Xiuming held her hand, his thumb gently stroking the back of her delicate hand, and asked, "How do you want me to make it up to you?"
"How about... we revisit this place?"
Bai Xiuming laughed: "Want to go to the town prison? Do you want to revisit old haunts, or do you want to see someone?"
Ah Chan blinked: "How about we revisit the place first, and then visit some people along the way?"
"I don't think it'll work."
Achan immediately pulled her hand away from his, slapped him to express her dissatisfaction, and asked angrily, "What do you think is wrong?"
"Bringing anyone other than prisoners into the town prison is a major taboo. What if you have ill intentions?"
"Then could you make an exception?"
"How can we make an exception?" Bai Xiuming whispered in her ear. "Why don't you teach me?"
His breath brushed against her neck, and Achan shrank back, muttering softly, "I won't teach you, you've kissed me until my neck is swollen."
"Where is it swollen? Let me see?"
Achan turned her head away, not wanting him to see, always feeling that he had ill intentions.
Bai Xiuming's eyes were full of smiles as he said, "Since you won't let me see it, then forget it. I don't like to force people to do things against their will."
Achan immediately grabbed his hand.
Bai Xiuming raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"
"I'll owe you for now."
"Owes two times."
Achan's eyes widened, and she said with dissatisfaction, "How can you raise the price on the spot?"
"What kind of good official would accept bribes?" Bai Xiuming had a very clear self-awareness.
Ah Chan gritted her teeth: "Twice is fine."
Bai Xiuming leaned over and pecked her lips.
When the two came down from the city wall, the lights in the distance were still bright.
Achan still carried her twin-fish lantern as she walked towards the Mingjing Division with Bai Xiuming.
The Mingjing Division is quiet tonight, as is the prison.
This place is shrouded in darkness; those who enter have no idea what day it is.
Xue sat slumped in her cell, looking haggard and lifeless, as if she had lost all vitality.
Although they said that because the Marquis of Jinyang donated a large sum of money to atone for her sins, she was only sentenced to one year in prison.
But she still had doubts in her heart: would she really be able to walk out of the town prison alive a year later?
Every day, Xue lived in fear and doubt.
She felt that Ji Chan would not let her go. Ji Chan had killed her younger brother and her two children, and now it was finally her turn.
The Marquis can't save her, and no one can save her.
Amidst this terror, she finally awaited Achan's arrival.
The Ji Chan who once allowed her to mold and control life and death was now standing outside the prison gate, watching her.
"What are you doing here?" Xue asked, her voice trembling as she looked at Achan.
Ah Chan slowly bent down and waved the lantern in her hand in front of Madam Xue: "Madam Xue, today is the fifteenth of the first month, the birthday of the Marquis of Jinyang. Do you still remember this day last year?"
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